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Ultimate Team. Ultimate Care.

It may have been a passion for athletics that first sparked Dr. Mark Lundeen’s interest in orthopedics. But for a surgeon who has seen a dramatic evolution in the technology that improves the mobility of athletes and non-athletes alike – helping people feel like themselves again is the ultimate satisfaction.

And he couldn’t do it without his team.

Together they perform hundreds total joint replacements a year – a mere fraction of the thousands joint replacements performed by Sanford Orthopedics & Sports Medicine experts in Fargo, Bemidji, Bismarck and Sioux Falls combined.

But it’s not the sheer quantity of total joint replacements performed at Sanford Orthopedics & Sports Medicine that makes the programs the most successful of its kind in the region. With a team comprised of the best, most experienced orthopedic surgeons, physical and occupational therapists and orthopedic nurses in the region, patients of the program have better – often life-changing – outcomes.

According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, for the majority of people who have hip replacement surgery, the procedure results in:

a decrease in pain

increased mobility

improvements in activities of daily living

improved quality of life.

“Our goal here at Sanford Orthopedics and Sports Medicine is to get people back to moving around the way they used to – without the pain and instability they were experiencing before,” says Dr. Lundeen. “People who could hardly get up out of their chairs but can now carry on the active lifestyle they haven’t had in a long time … that’s extremely satisfying to see.”

Lundeen says another satisfying part of his job is developing lifelong relationships. He says often he treats the children of some of his adult patients, a testament to the family-focused care model at Sanford Orthopedics & Sports Medicine.

“I have patients I’ve seen years before and now I’m treating their kids and their kids’ kids,” Lundeen says.

Types of total joint replacements

At Sanford Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, all total joint replacements are performed by board-certified or board eligible orthopedic surgeons, like Dr. Lundeen, who has more than 30 years of experience, along with a highly trained team that specializes in providing the ultimate care for patients before, during and after surgery.

As a leader in outcomes for total joint replacement, the total joint replacement experience at Sanford Orthopedics& Sports Medicine is a bit different than at other facilities. Here, patients are cared for in a
state-of-the-art facilities with minimally-invasive surgery options.

With pre-operative educational classes, patients have access to the tools they need to have positive outcomes.

The team also caters to the spiritual and emotional needs of patients before, during and after surgery.

A follow-up care plan ensures patients are healing and recovering as expected.

History of helping

Dr. Lundeen is no stranger to sports-related injuries. As a young athlete, he spent lots of time playing various sports, including hockey and snow skiing. But like many amateur athletes, he was sidelined by injuries that forced him to retire his skates and skis.

While he has known he would be a doctor since the age of 10, it wasn’t until Lundeen suffered injuries that he recognized his interest in sports medicine.

“This was at a time when we didn’t have nearly the amount of information or resources about sports medicine the way we do today,” says Dr. Lundeen. “But I became enamored with the relationships I saw between sports medicine doctors and their patient athletes. To see an injured athlete recover and heal was very inspiring to me as a medical student.”

Since then, Dr. Lundeen has been at the helm of an evolution in care – one that benefits athletes and others who are experiencing quality of life issues due to joint pain and discomfort. He’s seen many changes in the decades since starting his practice, but one of the most satisfying he’s been a part of so far, he says, is his involvement with his team at Sanford.

“We’re able to provide services that are streamlined,” he says. “So no matter if you’re in Fargo or Bemidji, you’re getting the same quality care from the minute you step in for a consultation, to the years after the procedure.” Lundeen says he follows up with his patients for sometimes decades after their surgeries.

Are you a candidate for total joint replacement?

Dr. Lundeen says there are many reasons patients come to him for joint pain relief. Some patients are completely immobilized by a bone-on-bone joint hip, for example. But others may have significant joint damage with little or no discomfort.

“More often than you think, it’s a spouse who drops off their loved one and says ‘here, take care of him. I can’t stand all the pain he’s in anymore,’ ” he says. “At that point, we get a little more serious about what we can do to make this patient feel better – his wife, too.”

Lundeen says more and more, due in part to technical advances in total joint replacement procedures, age is no longer a big factor in whether or not to proceed. In fact, some studies suggest that physical health rather than age is a better predictor of a successful outcome.

Other reasons patients seek help include:

degenerative conditions such as arthritis

joint damage and pain that interferes with daily activities

Upcoming events

If you or someone you know would like to learn more about total joint replacement at Sanford Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, sign up for our Joint Replacement Event on February 16, 2012. Space is limited and registration is encouraged by calling and leaving a message at (701) 234-5570 or (877) 234-4240.

Call (701) 237-9712 to make an appointment.

Posted Date: February 2013

It may have been a passion for athletics that first sparked Dr. Mark Lundeen’s interest in orthopedics. But helping people feel like themselves again is the ultimate satisfaction.